MedTech and BioTech  Transforming Medicine

ABOUT THE EVENT
Australia’s Med & Bio Tech sector has grown 40% in the last two years, taking the market cap of ASX listed companies to $250 billion – an increase of almost $16 billion in only six months. The sector now employs more than 105,000 people and is a critical component of the Australian economy. Australia is now a major player in Bio Tech, and global opportunities will continue to rise in line with increasing demand for targeted therapies, food production, and clean energy sources; rising diagnoses of chronic disease; and the public expectation of immediate, low-cost solutions.

The Australian Government has committed to empowering the biotechnology sector through the $20 billion Future Fund, to propel Australia forward as a world-leading market. South Australia’s Med & Bio Tech ecosystem brings together quality advanced manufacturing and strengths in product innovation and R&D, clinical trial expertise and high-tech capabilities. The $3.6 billion Adelaide Bio Med City is one of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest health and life sciences cluster. AmCham will share in-depth market insights, global trends, and collaborative investment opportunities.

Event Details
Date: Friday 22 September 2023
Time: 11.45AM - 2.00PM
Location: National Wine Centre - Corner of Botanic & Hackney Road, Adelaide SA 5000

Pricing
Members: Single $179 / Table of 10: $1790
Non-Members: Single $229 / Table of 10: $2290

Speakers


Hon Mark Butler MP,  Minister for Health and Aged Care

Mark Butler has been the Labor Member for Port Adelaide and Hindmarsh in the Federal Parliament since 2007. He is the Minister for Health and Aged Care. Mark served as Minister for Ageing and Australia’s first Minister for Mental Health in the Gillard Government. He has also held the ministries of Housing, Homelessness, Social Inclusion, Climate Change, Water and the Environment. In 2013, Mark was awarded the Alzheimer’s Disease International Award (ADI) for Extraordinary Contribution to Tackling Dementia. He served as National President of the Australian Labor Party from 2015 – 2018. Mark is the author of Advanced Australia - The Politics of Ageing, published in 2015; and Climate Wars, published in 2017.


Prof Caroline McMillen, Chief scientist for SA

Professor Caroline McMillen commenced in the role as Chief Scientist for South Australia in October 2018 after serving as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle for 7 years. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2020, awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Adelaide in 2019 and was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and a Bragg Member of the Royal Institution, Australia in 2015. Professor McMillen was also honoured at the end of her term as Vice-Chancellor to be presented with the Key to the City of Newcastle by the Lord Mayor in recognition of her leadership contribution to Newcastle and the region.

She holds a BA (Honours) and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford, and completed her medical training graduating with an MB, B Chir from the University of Cambridge. She serves on a range of Boards and Advisory Groups including as the member of the Royal Institution of Australia Council, the Australian Science Media Centre Advisory Board, the Australia Japan Foundation Board and she is currently the Australian representative for the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the Council of the University of the South Pacific. She is also a Director on the Boards of Home in Place and DMTC Ltd. Throughout her career Professor McMillen has been committed to building collaborations between universities, government, industry and communities that drive innovation and have a positive impact on the economic, environmental, social and cultural health of Australia.


Prof Michael Penniment Senior Radiation Oncologist, Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy

A/Prof Michael Penniment is a Senior Radiation Oncologist with interests in the application of new technologies in radiotherapy and the provision of services to rural and remote areas. He established the Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre (AWCCC) in Darwin in 2010. He is the clinical lead for the Australian Bragg Centre, the first proton therapy unit in the southern hemisphere. This has federal and state government financial support and will begin operations in 2025. He is on the Scientific Committee of the main global international particle therapy treatment and research group, PTCOG.

He completed an MBA (2007) and is nationally and internationally recognised as an expert in cancer infrastructure and business planning. He chairs national and international research projects, in particular, areas of business planning for new radiation facilities, improving indigenous cancer care, and quality of life in cancer treatment. He was honoured in the 2021 Australia Day National Honours as a Member of the Order of Australia. He will be specifically involved in aspects of integration of the technology into the operational plan for the Bragg Centre as well as considering the clinical national issues surrounding patient care.  Much of this work is in partnership various major institutions including MGH, Mayo and the NHS.


Dr Deborah Rathjen CEO & Managing Director, Carina Biotech

Dr Rathjen is a highly experienced and respected leader in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries within Australia and internationally, and has achieved in excess of $800 million in deals including partnerships with Merck & Co., J&J, Abbott (AbbVie), Celgene, Nycomed (Takeda) and Merck KGaA. An immunologist by training, Dr Rathjen has extensive R&D experience in the areas of infection and immunity, inflammation, oncology, and neuroscience, covering multiple treatment modalities. As well as heading up Carina Biotech, Dr Rathjen is currently Executive Chair of US-headquartered Bioasis Technologies Inc. She is also a member of the Australian Medical Research Future Fund Advisory Board, the Million Minds Mental Health Research Mission Expert Panel, the Stem Cell Therapies Mission Expert Panel and the Federal Government’s Biomedical Translation Fund Committee.


Brent Barnes  CEO & Managing Director, LBT Innovations

Brent became CEO and Managing Director of LBT in 2016. Since joining, the Company has developed and commercialised a patent protected artificial intelligence platform that automates culture plate reading in microbiology. APAS® Independence is now being sold globally, with strategical partnerships established with Thermo Fisher Scientific and AstraZeneca, bringing intelligent automation to clinical and pharmaceutical microbiology laboratories. Brent maintains a global commercial outlook for the Company.


Hon Jaala Pulford Non-Executive Director & Chair, MTPConnect

The Honourable Jaala Pulford was appointed as Non-Executive Director and Chair of MTPConnect in 2023 after a distinguished career as a senior minister in the Victorian state government. She was elected to the Victorian Parliament in 2006 as Member for Western Victoria. Over the first two terms of the Andrews Government (2014-22), Jaala was the first woman to serve as Minister for Agriculture, and had ministerial responsibilities that included roads, the TAC, fishing and boating, small business, resources, employment and for innovation, medical research and the digital economy. She also served as Deputy Leader of the Government in the upper house. Jaala is an experienced leader with deep experience in Cabinet government, public administration and governance. She is passionate about making sure people and businesses can thrive in an economy undergoing fast-moving, often destabilising, but exciting and transformational change. Jaala holds a number of positions in the MTP sector including as a Director of the Children’s Cancer Foundation, member of the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health Advisory Council, Non Executive Director of Cyban Pty Limited and Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at University of Melbourne. She holds a Bachelor Business Management, a Masters of Public Policy and is a Graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

EVENT PARTNERS